History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 659: The King of Founding Merits
Historically, Yang Bin's approach has received mixed reviews, with the ratio being 50-50. Although it led to the loss of talent, it did change the past evil trends in the officialdom of the Later Han Dynasty and rectified the official system. Moreover, people also blamed Su Fengji. If it weren't for his rampant corruption, bribery, and selling of official positions, Yang Bin would not have gone so far in correcting the wrongs.

Although Yang Bin hated evil, he had great limitations after all. He often made jokes at work:

Zhou Can, a native of Xingzhou, was originally a general of the imperial guards. As his life was insecure after retirement, he followed Wang Jingchong on the Western Expedition. As a result, when Wang Jingchong rebelled in Fengxiang, Zhou Can took the initiative to serve as Wang Jingchong's military think tank.

This incident had a great impact on Yang Bin, so he comprehensively reviewed the management of retired personnel and issued a policy, writing a memorial to the court: "Officials appointed by the previous dynasty (Later Jin) are scattered all over the country. They often incite local governments to rebel against the central government. They should be gathered in the capital and managed in a unified manner."

When Liu Chengyou heard this, he thought it made sense!
As a result, these social destabilizers were gathered in the capital.

Overnight, countless rights protection petitioners appeared on the streets of the capital of the Later Han Empire. They blocked the gates of the imperial palace, stopped the prime ministers on their way to and from get off work, and requested that their official positions be restored.

"We have to work!"

Yang Bin then wrote another chapter: "First, place them temporarily, and when there are vacancies in the official positions, they will be filled in a certain order."

When Liu Chengyou heard this, he thought it made sense!
Waiting for the vacancy to be filled is a long process. The problem is that during this period before they get the job, they become high-level vagrants. They rush to Beijing from all over the world, have no house, no money, and even basic food and accommodation become a problem.

Yang Bin then added another chapter: "The court should provide these people with accommodation and three meals a day."

When Liu Chengyou heard this, he thought it made sense!
So the court began to provide government subsidies to these people. These hungry and thirsty high-class homeless people immediately rushed to the relief points, sweeping away their former politeness. The scene was once chaotic and out of control, causing panic among the people, who thought that the rebels or Khitans were coming again.

Yang Bin then said, "Well...even if I didn't say anything before, let's just forget about it."

When Liu Chengyou heard this, he thought it made sense!
Yang Bin's reforms were in vain.

Although Yang Bin's governing ability was lacking, it is undeniable that he was honest and upright. Historical records show that although Yang Bin held a high position and great power, he never accepted bribes. However, people who gave gifts and bribes were always omnipresent, so Yang Bin turned over all the stolen money he accidentally received to the national treasury and confiscated it.

History has given him a relatively high evaluation, "Bin was good at armor and military, and filled the treasury, so that the state had no shortage of funds, and the border areas were peaceful, which was also his achievement."

But is he really so glorious? According to some unofficial historical records, although Yang Bin despised scholars, he attached great importance to his historical image and the evaluation of future generations. Therefore, he recruited a large number of gunmen to write his biography to make his name in history. Therefore, the records about him refusing bribes are likely to be artificially beautified.

Unfortunately, when Yang Bin died, the ghostwriters had not yet completed their homework, and his whitewashing biography came to an end with his sudden death.

3. Wang Zhang 3.1 Wang Zhang
Wang Zhang and Yang Bin had similar experiences. They were both from Weizhou, were both minor officials, and had good fathers-in-law. Wang Zhang's father-in-law was Bai Wenke, who assisted Guo Wei in pacifying Li Shouzhen in Hezhong.

During the reign of Li Congke, the last emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, the commander of Weizhou was Li Congke's brother-in-law Liu Yanhao. Liu Yanhao was unable to control the army, which led to a mutiny and he was expelled by his general Zhang Lingzhao. Soon, Fan Yanguang was ordered to suppress the rebellion, and Wang Zhang was unfortunately classified as a "Zhang Lingzhao's gang" and was listed on the Weizhou wanted list.

At the critical moment, his father-in-law came to the rescue. Li Jingzhou, the deputy commander of the rebellion suppression army, was an old revolutionary comrade of Bai Wenke, so Bai Wenke secretly entrusted Li Jingzhou to protect his son-in-law Wang Zhang. When the city was broken, Li Jingzhou immediately captured Wang Zhang, hid him in the baggage team, smuggled him back to Beijing, and then hid him in his own home to avoid the limelight.

The limelight soon passed, Li Congke died and the country was destroyed, and the dynasty changed. Wang Zhang was able to see the light of day again and was appointed as the grain and food envoy of Heyang.

Later, when Liu Zhiyuan was in charge of the imperial guards, he recruited Wang Zhang and brought him to Hedong, making Wang Zhang Liu Zhiyuan's direct descendant in Hedong. After Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, he appointed Wang Zhang to judge the three courts.

A blessing in disguise. At the end of the Later Tang Dynasty, Wang Zhang was involved in Zhang Lingzhao's mutiny and became a wanted criminal of Li Congke's court. He had to hide his identity and live a life of hiding from the public. Because he was wanted by Li Congke, he was highly valued by Shi Jingtang of the Later Jin Dynasty. Liu Zhiyuan of the Later Han Dynasty inherited the mantle of the Later Jin Dynasty, so Liu Zhiyuan still trusted Wang Zhang very much.

After Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, he promoted Wang Zhang to the positions of Inspecting Grand Marshal and Co-Prime Minister, bringing him to the peak of his life.

The reason why Wang Zhang was rapidly promoted was not only because his own experience was favored by the rulers, but also because of his father-in-law's personal connections and his own abilities, because his main job was finance and he was the money bag of the Hedong Group.

Although both are related to money and grain taxation, Wang Zhang and Yang Bin have different talent trees and specialize in different areas. Yang Bin's job is more inclined to "violent debt collection", which is the end of taxation work, while Wang Zhang is the financial director, which is more of a civilian job. This is also why after Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, Yang Bin became the representative of the military group as a "privy envoy", while Wang Zhang continued his job as a "judge of the three courts".

At that time, the Central Plains suffered from natural disasters year after year, especially in the Yellow River Basin, where hundreds of thousands of people starved to death. The Jin-Liao War lasted for five years. It is no exaggeration to describe the country as "poor and weak". These contents have been described in detail in Liu Zhiyuan's hell mode start and Liu Chengyou's basement mode start.

On this basis, the three towns in the west rebelled one after another, and Hou Shu responded by sending troops to intervene; Huainan was also ready to move, and sporadic frictions and conflicts occurred on the southeastern border; Khitan took advantage of the situation and plundered deep into Hebei.

There is no doubt that under such circumstances, the national finances will face unimaginable difficulties and obstacles, and this is what Wang Zhang needs to solve.

Thanks to Wang Zhang's hard work, the Later Han Dynasty not only did not have to worry about money, but the treasury even had a surplus. This made Liu Chengyou very satisfied and he praised Wang Zhang's work ability.

Of course, Wang Zhang is not able to generate wealth. He does not create wealth, but is only a wealth carrier. In short, he is very good at exploiting the people. No wonder, don't forget that Wang Zhang and Yang Bin's old superior is Kong Qian.

(End of this chapter)